Types Of Welder
Welding is the practice of joining metal with the help of an instrument that consist of a gas flame, an electrical arc, a laser, an electron beam. Welding can be done in open air, under water and in outer space. It is a highly dangerous profession and can cause burns, electric shock, vision damage, inhalation of poisonous gases and fumes and exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation. In the early 20th century, different forms of welding was developed and different styles of welding have since then come up and with them different types of instruments to be used for welding, as well. One who uses these various instruments to do this process is called a welder. Three types of welders became very common – stick welder or arc welder, mig welder and tig welder.
Stick welder is the most common type of welder used. This is done manually and requires considerable skill to handle the welding by the person. An electric current is used to strike an arc between the base of the metal and the operative metal rod, made of steel covered with a flux which protects the weld area from oxidizing and getting polluted by carbon dioxide gas produced in this process. The electrode core works as a filler material thereby negating the process of separate filler. This process is the cheapest one available and the operator – the person working with the stick can attain the skill to wield it with a modest amount of training. This process is limited to welding only ferrous materials.
MIG welder stands for metal inert gas welder. This is a semi automatic or an automatic process which uses a combination of a wire feed and semi inert gas to protect the weld from getting contaminated. As the electrode is steady here, welding speed is greater. TIG welder stands for tungsten inert gas welder. This is a process also done manually where a non operative tungsten electrode is used. Here non operable means that the electrode does not consume its electrodes thus making it last longer unlike in the stick welder. This method can be used for welding thin materials. This method is defined by the stable arc and high quality weld, although it requires considerable operator skill and can be achieved only at relatively low speeds. This method can be used on almost all weldable metals, significantly used on stainless steel and other light metals. It is most specifically used when quality of weld is very important like in bicycles, aircrafts and naval applications.
Stick welder is the most common type of welder used. This is done manually and requires considerable skill to handle the welding by the person. An electric current is used to strike an arc between the base of the metal and the operative metal rod, made of steel covered with a flux which protects the weld area from oxidizing and getting polluted by carbon dioxide gas produced in this process. The electrode core works as a filler material thereby negating the process of separate filler. This process is the cheapest one available and the operator – the person working with the stick can attain the skill to wield it with a modest amount of training. This process is limited to welding only ferrous materials.
MIG welder stands for metal inert gas welder. This is a semi automatic or an automatic process which uses a combination of a wire feed and semi inert gas to protect the weld from getting contaminated. As the electrode is steady here, welding speed is greater. TIG welder stands for tungsten inert gas welder. This is a process also done manually where a non operative tungsten electrode is used. Here non operable means that the electrode does not consume its electrodes thus making it last longer unlike in the stick welder. This method can be used for welding thin materials. This method is defined by the stable arc and high quality weld, although it requires considerable operator skill and can be achieved only at relatively low speeds. This method can be used on almost all weldable metals, significantly used on stainless steel and other light metals. It is most specifically used when quality of weld is very important like in bicycles, aircrafts and naval applications.